7 Deadly Marketing Sins
All Marketing Activities Should Point Toward an ROI
Western ethics say that there are Seven Deadly Sins. These are wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy, and gluttony. I suggest that there are also 7 deadly marketing sins in today’s online environment. In general, shouldn’t all marketing activities point toward an ROI? These seven deadly sins violate that covenant.
Your IT Department Owns Your Online Marketing
As far as marketing sins go, this one is at the top for a reason. You may say that no one can make this mistake anymore. But yes, small and medium-sized businesses do this all the time. Think about it! The IT folks own your network and before you know it they are setting up websites and configuring email campaigns. They actually might get the “plumbing” of this right. However, please don’t expect them to get user experiences, site architecture, graphic design, content, and other key elements correct.
Your Website is an Online Brochure
So your site has a good looking home page. Nice images of the team are placed in the “about” section. There is a “gallery” or “portfolio” section with more basic images. There may also be a findable “contact us” tab. However, your embedded client base doesn’t get much added value by visiting. Worse yet, high value potential clients that are craving information will probably not be impressed.
Your Website is a Parts Catalog
By this I mean that you have paid for page after page with model numbers, part numbers, various ordering codes, etc. Also, many of these sites don’t easily allow a user to place any of this in a “cart”. Perhaps the rationale here is that the site services existing customers. If that is the case, get another plan. Like a “pro” site that requires credentials and has this type of information better organized. Then, create a client facing site with advanced Web 3.0 principles in place.
Trying to Beat the “House”
Like it or not, the “house” is Google. They have told everyone who will listen that their search technology is designed to help the searchers not the websites they find. The technology increasingly rewards those websites that provide great content and best answer the search queries posed. The old “tricks”, such as content creating software, link building robots, etc., etc. are being crushed by the more sophisticated search algorithms. Now you have to earn great search results with hard work.
No REAL Email Marketing Plan
This is the easiest point of entry for the digital marketing rookie. Why? Well, most everyone has been on its receiving end. Nevertheless, too many email campaigns are sporadic, lacking content value, out of context and spur no measurable activity by the recipients. There is no reason that a business cannot get their arms around this simple marketing plank.
Failing to Publish, So You Must Perish
The old saw in academia said, “publish or perish”. In other words, a professor without publications is no professor at all. So too can we say that a website without real content is no website at all. When a phrase is entered into a search engine the site that best helps that user wins. There is a reason why the “big box” stores offer information-rich blog posts, how-to videos, product comparisons and then add more and more valuable content every day. They have built their “authority” in the online market-place and visitor’s transition readily to buyers. Simply said, post valuable content or…GAME OVER.
Sales Process Failure
Perhaps the greatest of all marketing sins is having a site that attracts visitors through great content, but….. Those visitors also have plenty of opportunities to “convert” from being just a visitor to becoming a “lead” by contacting the site ownership. Unfortunately, many websites have no workflow in place to capture and manage these business opportunities. They should be scored in a vetting process, assigned properly to the sales force, and the results then tracked and analyzed. All aimed at a transparent and measurable ROI process.
In conclusion, it may not exactly be a brave new world…but it is an exciting one.
